Press release

Flexibility For All: Barriers to flexibility still stand in the way of gender parity

Flexibility For All: Barriers to flexibility still stand in the way of gender parity

Flexibility For All: Barriers to flexibility still stand in the way of gender parity

  • febbraio 03, 2016
  • Tempo di lettura min.

Press release

Flexibility For All: Barriers to flexibility still stand in the way of gender parity

Flexibility For All:
Barriers to flexibility still stand in the way of gender parity

  • Actively supporting flexible working models for both genders is key to supporting women's progression into leadership roles 
  • Negative perceptions discourage men from taking advantage of flexible work

Sydney, Tuesday 2 February:

In order to advance gender equality in the workplace, flexible work arrangements must be available to and actively supported for both genders.  Currently less than 50% of Australian organisations have a workplace flexibility policy and even when such policies exist, there are barriers to effective utilisation.

The right culture and active support are fundamental to improving employees' experience of flexible working. Male and female respondents to the latest Bain-Chief Executive Women Survey agreed that proof of the potential to progress one's career, visible commitment by the CEO, leadership and colleagues, and respect for boundaries are the most important factors in their experience of flexible working. Where flexible arrangements are widely used, all employees are four times happier than in organisations with no flexible options. However flexible work arrangements are not driving advocacy or confidence for men, despite strong interest in their uptake.

Melanie Sanders, Bain partner and report co-author, said: "By actively encouraging flexible arrangements and ensuring they are widely used, organisations stand to gain significant employee advocacy.  However, there are barriers still in the way of men accessing flexible work which suggest that they are suffering the stigmas and biases that women experienced more severely in the early days of their use of flexible working."

Meredith Hellicar, CEW spokesperson and report co-author said: "If we aspire to adapt to the workplace of the future and the increasing desires of both genders to play meaningful parenting roles, then we need strong leadership from the CEO and active support from all managers and significant role models to make flexible working a success for men and women."
Bain and CEW have identified several key actions to normalise and accelerate the success of flexible working. Organisations must:

  • Actively encourage and role model the uptake of flexible work arrangements 
  • Ensure flexible arrangements are supported and working successfully for both genders 
  • Create the right culture and support employee priorities of career progression, visible support from the CEO, leadership team and colleagues, and respect of boundaries 
  • Create clear policies around promotion and compensation when working flexibly 
  • Ensure technology and an agile work environment are in place and working well

The report is the fifth in a series of landmark gender parity surveys by global management consulting firm Bain & Company and Chief Executive Women, Australia's preeminent organisation of 360–senior women leaders.

Over 1000 members of the Australian business, government and not-for-profit community responded to the survey about their use of flexible work arrangements and their perceptions of their organisations. Their responses were used to calculate a Net Promoter Score.

The full report The power of flexibility: A key enabler to boost gender parity and employee engagement can be downloaded here.

Co-authors Melanie Sanders (Bain) and Meredith Hellicar (CEW) are available for interview.

Media enquiries:
Parnell McGuinness
Ph 0412 22 82 82
Email parnell.mcguinness@thoughtbroker.com.au

A proposito di Bain & Company

Bain & Company è l’azienda di consulenza globale che aiuta le aziende change-makers più ambiziose a definire il proprio futuro. Con 65 uffici in 40 paesi, lavoriamo insieme ai nostri clienti come un unico team con un obiettivo condiviso: raggiungere risultati straordinari che superino i concorrenti e ridefiniscano gli standard del settore. L’approccio consulenziale di Bain è altamente personalizzato e integrato e, grazie alla creazione di un ecosistema di innovatori digitali, assicura ai clienti risultati migliori e più duraturi, in tempi più brevi. Il nostro impegno a investire oltre 1 miliardo di dollari in 10 anni in servizi pro bono mette il nostro talento, la nostra competenza e le nostre conoscenze a disposizione delle organizzazioni che affrontano le sfide di oggi in materia di istruzione, equità razziale, giustizia sociale, sviluppo economico e ambiente. Fondata nel 1973 a Boston, in Italia ha celebrato il trentennale nel 2019: la sua approfondita competenza e il portafoglio di clienti si estendono a ogni settore industriale ed economico e in Italia la rendono leader di mercato.

Per maggiori informazioni: www.bain.it

A proposito di Toluna

Toluna è una digital market research agency leader nella raccolta di insight sui consumatori in tutto il mondo. Flessibilità e agilità sono le caratteristiche distintive principali di Toluna, grazie alle quali si possono realizzare progetti di ricerca capaci di rispondere alle esigenze di business delle aziende che così, in modo efficiente, possono conoscere meglio i mercati in cui operano, innovare i loro prodotti/servizi, analizzare le proprie campagne di comunicazione e misurare la forza del proprio brand. Le soluzioni di Toluna sono agili, personalizzabili e disponibili con diversi livelli di servizio, al fine di permettere alle aziende di ottenere le risposte nel momento in cui veramente ne hanno bisogno per essere competitive sul mercato. Toluna é un player globale che permette di accedere all’opinione di oltre 79 milioni di consumatori in più di 100 paesi.

Per maggiori informazioni su Toluna https://www.tolunacorporate.com/?lang=it